Through My Own Eyes
by TwilightSparkle29
Summary: (ninth story in the found series) Things have been a little weird for shimmer lately. She seemingly developed this power to see spirits everywhere she goes. But what happens when she meets an unexpected guest, who tells her he's still alive. and what do the others think about what Shimmer believes?
1. Chapter 1

Shimmer sat in the living room, wrapped up in a blanket. The television was on. It was about ten o'clock and one of the late night horror shows were on. Shimmer didn't mind though, in fact she was the type of mare that could watch hundreds of horror movies and not get scared, but would scream at the top of her lungs when toast pops out of the toaster. But she wasn't alone, so to say. She watched the television screen as a zombie started to eat the mare that just screamed prior to the crushing sound of her skull.

"What's happening now?" Fleetfoot voice sounded, she turned her head to see the ghostly figure of Fleetfoot, reclining on the couch.

"The Zombie is eating her Fleetfoot" Shimmer explained. Fleetfoot shook her head

"Well that isn't very nice, I bet if they had a well civilized conversation, they both would get out in one piece, and the problem would be resolved" Fleetfoot explained. Shimmer was about to respond, but she couldn't.

"SHIMMER, WHO IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING TO" Spitfire stated aloud from inside the kitchen. Shimmer looked at Fleetfoot.

"She's going to yell in the next thirty seconds if you scamper, you can hold off on getting yelled at" Fleetfoot stated. Shimmer nodded, and ran off towards the kitchen. She looked into the Kitchen to see Spitfire was in the process of changing a light bulb; Soarin was leaning up against the counter, talking to Lightning who had a glass, filled with water up to his lips. Rainbow Dash and Artic Wind were sitting at the table.

"Who were you talking to?" Spitfire questioned.

"Fleetfoot" Shimmer responded. Spitfire almost dropped the light bulb; Lightning did a spit take, sending droplets of water everywhere.

"Shimmer, we've had this conversation before, Fleetfoot was shot at point blank range, and she died!" Spitfire stated, almost yelled at her. Shimmer almost glared at her mother.

"She's in the living room" Shimmer stated.

"You know kiddo, you really need to hit the hay" Spitfire stated as she walked into the living room, and turned the TV off.

"Besides, Shimmer, 'Fleetfoot' probably hasn't told you anything important" Rainbow Dash stated.

"In the upper drawer of your desk you have a picture of Tyco, and you flirt with it" Shimmer stated. Rainbow Dashes eyes widened, and she blushed, soon her face was red, and it was because she was mad.

"You little SNEAK" Rainbow hissed, she tried to go after Shimmer, only to be held back by Soarin.

"Relax" Soarin commanded

"I didn't sneak into your office, Fleetfoot told me that" Shimmer stated.

"SHIMMER, YOUR ROOM, NOW" Spitfire yelled, Shimmer sighed, and headed for the steps, Artic Wind soon caught up to her, and draped a wing around her. Shimmer didn't like it when Spitfire yelled, it put her on edge, and it made her want to cry.

"Shhh, I'm right here" Artic wind cooed. "You know she doesn't mean it" He added.

"Of course she does" Shimmer whispered.

"No, she doesn't," Artic Wind Stated, he laid her down on her bed, he laid down next to her. He started to kiss her neck. She sighed, and relaxed.

"What did she tell you this time" Artic Wind asked. He was the only pony who understood Shimmer.

"That zombies should have well civilized conversations with their victims instead of eating them" Shimmer whispered. They both laughed silently. Artic Wind soon started to kiss her neck again

"Artic" Shimmer moaned. He continued, letting her breath quicken a little. He soon stopped, and watched her relax. He pulled her close, and pulled the blankets over them.

"Sleep" He whispered to her, and with that, she closed her eyes, and did as she was told.


	2. Chapter 2

As Shimmer walked towards her school the next day, one thought was racing through her head.

'I got to get to my locker' she thought. She started to break into a gallop, only to stop when she saw a bunch of other ponies, a bunch of spirits.

"You better not be abandoning your regiment private" a long gone guard captain stated to her.

"No sir, but I must be on my way" She responded with a salute.

"Carry on private" He commanded then walked away. She turned her head to see the ghost of a hippie, sitting on the curb.

"What up" He stated.

"Nothing much man" Shimmer responded.

"Well, peace" He said, Shimmer started to hurry away.

"Hey Shimmer" A voice called, shimmer looked over to see a familiar captain to a airship that crashed long ago, sending her to a painful death, in a tree.

"What's hanging" Shimmer stated. The captain started to laugh.

"Oh that's a good one, never heard that before." She laughed. Shimmer nodded

"See ya around" She called before running off towards the school building.

"I won't be going anywhere anytime soon" the captain called to her. Shimmer slowed her pace as she walked towards the school. All the foals turned to look at her, whispering rumors and lies about her. She had grown used to it. She saw Shooting Star and her followers, but looked away. She tripped over something, and hit the ground with a thud; she picked up her books, and walked inside as everypony laughed. When she got to her locker, she sighed.

'Looks like I was too late' she thought as she read the word FREAK written in thick black ink on her locker door. She opened her locker and pulled out a spray bottle filled with water, and a rag. She sprayed water on the door of her locker, and wiped the ink away. When she turned around, she saw who had written the word on her locker.

"What do you want Shooting Star?" Shimmer asked.

"Talk to any good ghosts lately" She mocked, the other two fillies behind her smirked. A fly flew past them and landed on the locker.

"Hey Shimmer, why don't you talk to this" Shooting start stated as she killed the fly with a hard smack from her hoof. She walked away.

"Flies don't talk" Shimmer whispered as she watched the spirit of the dead fly disappear into thin air. This was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

Shimmer was walking home after a long day of academic studies, electives, and Shooting Star taunting her. She liked being alone. But that soon wasn't possible. She heard a set of what sounded like talons walk up to her. She sighed.

"Hi Bluebelle" she sighed as she looked at the griffon.

"So it's true, you can talk to ghosts" She stated.

"I like to be alone here" Shimmer responded.

"So do I, let's do it together" she commented. Shimmer grumbled.

"Do you think you could talk to my dog Boo, he was hit by an animal rescue van, and it's both sad and ironic" Bluebelle stated.

"If you mean see him, yeah I could try" Shimmer stated.

"C'mon then let's go" Bluebelle stated, she grabbed her hoof and led her to her house. They walked into the driveway.

"Um, Bluebelle you do realize who that is, that's the weirdo who can see ghosts" A voice stated.

"Shut up Iron Talon, she's a friend!" Bluebelle snapped back. They both walked into the backyard. Shimmer automatically saw the spirit of Boo; he was cut in half though. She saw his front side walk around, and soon he started to sniff his own butt.

"Lovely" Shimmer mumbled, as she gave the spirit dog a disgusted look.

"You see him" Bluebelle asked.

"He's over there" Shimmer stated. She ran up to him, she saw her run up to where she was pointing to, she heard her make a kissing sound, she looked back at Boo and her eyes widened.

"Uh, that's not his head" Shimmer told Bluebelle. Her eyes widened. "I got to get going" Shimmer stated. And with that quickly left. She just wanted to get home, but another part, seemed to want to stay away from her house. She shook her head, and continued to walk home.

'I'll just talk to Artic Wind, he'll know what to say' shimmer thought. She looked up to see she was back at the headquarters, and with that she took a deep breath, and walked in.


	4. Chapter 4

It was no surprise that as soon as Shimmer walked into the headquarters, she rushed up to her room.

'He'll come up sooner or later' Shimmer thought. She walked into her room only to see Fleetfoot sitting on her bed.

"You ok kiddo?" She asked.

"Yeah" Shimmer responded. She closed her door. It soon opened again.

"Rough day" Artic wind asked. Shimmer nodded. He walked up to her, and held her in a hug. Fleetfoot looked at her.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." She told her, and then proceeded to walk into the large, mirror hanging on her wall. She stared at the mirror for a second.

"She was here?" Artic wind asked. Shimmer nodded.

"She left us alone" Shimmer whispered. She felt him kiss her. She closed her eyes.

"Listen Baby" Artic Wind stated. She looked at him. "You have, a gift, but you got to be careful on who you express this stuff to, some ponies may think, differently than you" Artic wind whispered.

"Are you saying something here?" Shimmer stated a little worried. Artic Wind pulled her onto the bed.

"I believe you one hundred and ten percent here baby, but, for example, I would hold back if you're around Spitfire or the others." He explained. "Spitfire just doesn't believe in what she can't see for herself." Artic wind added in a hush. A frustrated look appeared on Shimmers face.

"Were heading up to the academy tomorrow, I get away from all the kids at school for the month, but I don't get away from rat spirits." Shimmer whispered.

"Rats" Artic wind stated a look of confusion on his face.

"You ok?" shimmer asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but rats, really?"

"I write obituaries for them if you haven't noticed." Shimmer whispered. "It just bugs me no pony ever mourns over them" she added. Artic wind gave her a peck on the cheek.

"It freaked you out, didn't it" Shimmer stated. Artic wind looked at her.

"No, you can do what you want; I just never met some pony who would go out of their way to write obituaries for deceased rats." Artic wind stated. Shimmer started to stare at the corner.

"Is she spying on us" Artic wind asked, referring to Fleetfoot.

"No, dead robin" Shimmer stated.

"What?" Artic Wind asked.

"Got caught in the ventilation system, died about two months ago." Shimmer stated.

"Lovely" Artic wind mumbled. Shimmer started to nuzzle him, getting his attention again. He started to rub her back; she calmed down and started to snuggle into his chest. He stroked her mane, and kissed her every once in a while. He soon settled down as well.

"Feeling better" He whispered.

"I'm a bit tired, but I feel much better" Shimmer whispered, she closed her eyes, she felt Artic Winds wings around her, and she soon fell asleep in his embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

The day passed by quickly, and soon, the day to go up to the academy came. Shimmer was just told to keep her distance (because she was talking to a dead rat that had showed up before they left, and Spitfire didn't want any of it).

"It's not like I'm going to scare any of them off" Shimmer whispered to what looked like to be her hooves. But through her eyes there was a rat in them. She saw the spirits ears droop.

"Ok, I may freak some pony out" Shimmer whispered. The rat snapped its jaws.

"Ok, ok, if I do this regularly, I may scare some pony into quitting. It just looked at her. She put the spirit into her saddle bag; she saw its head poke out of the side.

"Yeah, enjoy it while you can, were landing soon." Shimmer told the rat. It just looked ahead.

"Shimmer, there is no rat there" She heard Spitfire comment. "I thought I told you to stay quiet for the trip" Spitfire added.

"Don't argue with your decorated officer" She heard a familiar voice state.

"Fleetfoot" Shimmer whispered.

"SHIMMER, ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ON MY NERVES" Spitfire yelled, putting shimmer on edge. Shimmers breath started to get shuddery.

"Oh, don't you even think about starting with the waterworks!" Spitfire commanded. She silently let a few tears fall from her eyes.

'Why is she being so mean to me' Shimmer thought.

"Shimmer, don't take it personally, she still has a lot of guilt weighing down on her shoulders." Fleetfoot said in a comforting tone of voice. Shimmer sighed. She saw the team go in for a landing, she followed.

"See you later" She heard Fleetfoot call out to her, as she headed for the building, she could easily just go through the walls now that she was just a spirit. This was going to be a very long month, and Shimmer was starting to think that she would rather take a month of being pushed around and teased by Shooting Star then go through this. As they team entered the building they all stayed downstairs and conversed, but Shimmer walked up the steps, and went into her dorm.

'I want to be alone, besides I have an obituary I need to start' shimmer thought, and with that, entered her dorm room.


	6. Chapter 6

Night time soon rolled around. Shimmer was sitting in her room. Fleetfoot was behind her.

"Are you still upset about being yelled at?" She asked. Shimmer felt an icy cold, which was Fleetfoot's hoof on her shoulder.

"I'm upset I only have one pony that believes that I'm actually seeing these things, Am I seeing these things, or am I just plain crazy?" Shimmer asked Fleetfoot.

"You're not crazy, you just need to learn to control when you talk to me, or any spirit for that matter" Fleetfoot responded. Fleetfoot soon left the room after that. Shimmer was thinking about a lot, until she heard a tap on her window, then a knock.

"What the hell?" She asked herself. She walked over to the window, and opened it. She saw a colt, about her age fly into the room. He was a dark, storm cloud grey, with a dark blue and midnight black mane and tail. He wore a black leather jacket, and when he turned around, Shimmer saw he had two pearly white fangs.

"Who the hell are you, and why the hell did you just bucking barge into my room like its absolutely normal, what hell froze over!" Shimmer practically screamed.

"Shut up, and man do you have a dirty mouth young miss" the colt responded.

"Who. Are. You" Shimmer asked again.

"Damien, Damien Dawn, used to be a Wonderbolt myself" he said

"Mrs. Spits thought I went completely mental, I see them too, the ghosts" he told her. Shimmer put her hoof forward, and touched his shoulder, she jabbed him with her hoof a few more times.

"Uh, miss, what are you doing?" Damien asked.

"You are alive" She whispered.

"Look, you got to run at the first sign of trouble, the first sign they're going to throw ya in the nuthouse with all the nut-jobs and squirrels" Damien told her.

"But, Where would I go, what would I do, would I have to run forever" She stated.

"We'll deal with that later, just swear" He said.

"Like the b word" Shimmer asked. Damian Dawn grumbled.

"Promise, Idiot" he sneered.

"Okay, okay, I'll run at the first sign of trouble!" Shimmer stated. Damien was about to leave.

"Wait, it's not fair she did that to you" Shimmer stated.

"Shit happens" He stated. He opened the window.

"You going to be okay out there" Shimmer asked.

"Have been for the past two years of my life" He stated he spread his wings.

"Is there anything I can do" Shimmer stated.

"Mention my name, I think you need to hear both sides of the story behind me getting dismissed" He stated and with that, flew off leaving a dumbfounded Shimmer behind.


	7. Chapter 7

It was about three o'clock in the morning when Shimmer felt some pony nuzzle her, she opened her eyes to see Artic Wind was there with her.

"What I, I" Shimmer stated. The last thing she remembered was having her conversation with Damien.

"You were talking to somepony new last night, some of the Cadets told me they heard you talking to somepony." Artic whispered. "When I came in to ask you who you were talking to, you were sound asleep" Artic wind added.

"I was talking to Damien Dawn" Shimmer whispered.

"Another spirit friend of yours" Artic wind whispered, pulling her down onto the bed. He started to kiss her neck.

"N-no, he…oh, yes… he is, is… oh Artic… A-ali-alive" Shimmer stuttered as Artic wind kissed her neck. He stopped as soon as he heard what she had said.

"Baby, he's probably just a creation from your imagination, or he's another ghost" He stated.

"Spirit" Shimmer corrected.

"What's the difference" Artic wind asked

"A ghost is an emotion warped out of shape, destine to repeat itself time, and time again" Shimmer explained. "Spirits usually have unfinished business on earth, and can't go over the divide until that business is taken care of." She added onto her explanation.

"Still baby, Damien isn't a real pony" Artic Wind stated, knowing that there was a point where he was going to have to tell her where some things weren't true. This was that point. Shimmer's shook her head.

"No! No he was real, I swear he was real, he was here last night, I was talking to him, he said he was a Wonderbolt, he said Spitfire kicked him off the team because he saw Spirits too!" Shimmer stated, getting worked up over hearing that Damien was not real. He was real, and she knew it. Artic wind held her in his arms. He started to rock her back and forth; he quietly made the clicking noise she liked. She soon wrapped her arms around his neck, and put her head on his chest. She felt a few tears stream down her face.

"Baby" Artic wind whispered, concerned for her well-being.

"He is real! He is real" Shimmer told him. Artic Wind held her closer.

"Shh, baby it's okay, you're just in a state of denial" he whispered.

"No, he told me to run, he told me to run, I promised I'd run!" Shimmer stated. Artic Wind looked at her in disbelief.

"You promised you would run away" He gasped.

"I don't like being yelled at! I don't like this anymore Artic! Artic, it's either I run away, or I'm going to fucking kill myself!" Shimmer stated.

"Don't say that" Artic wind stated, sitting her up, and looking her in the eyes.

"Where's the Shimmer I used to know?" He asked her.

"She's long gone" She told him.

"Who said I couldn't bring her back" Artic wind stated, and with that pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss. Shimmer moaned as Artic wind and she kissed. After a few seconds Artic wind pulled away. Shimmer rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know" He whispered. And with that, they started to cuddle with each other, and did until it was time to go down to the mess hall, for roll call, and to get something to eat.


	8. Chapter 8

Shimmer slouched at the breakfast table, her cheek resting in one hoof, as the other hoof poked at the eggs on her toast with her fork. Things were getting to be too much here. Damien was right, she needed to run, and soon. Shimmer heard the sound of fabric as one of the cadets' slid across the bench to another pony, probably a friend, and she heard her say in a loud whisper.

"What's the matter with her eggs not bloody enough for her?" Shimmer pretended not to hear as the sound of giggles erupted from the left side of the mess hall. Even if she wasn't at school, she still was getting teased. She saw Spitfires head snap left.

"You better not be talking to a spirit" She mouthed at Shimmer.

"Ah- oooooooooh" another one of the cadets, Spitfire called Lightning Dust howled softly, making the whole left side of the mess hall erupt into snickers and laughs.

"How Immature" Shimmer heard Fleetfoot state from behind her.

"I can't talk right now Fleetfoot" Shimmer whispered.

"Shimmer, what did I tell you!" Spitfire yelled. Shimmers face went from a white to a beat red in ten seconds flat.

"I can't TAKE THIS ANYMORE" Shimmer screamed back. And with that ran out of the room. It scared most of the cadets into silence, and made most of the wonderbolts exchange scared looks. Soarin got up, and left the room, knowing that it was better if Artic Wind sat this one out, and Spitfire was in no mood to go after her.

* * *

"Shim" Soarin stated as he entered her dorm room.

"What" Shimmer snapped back from under the covers "You going to yell at me too?" She questioned. Soarin settled down next to his daughter, pulled the covers off over her, and wrapped his wing around her.

"You know your mother has a lot going on right now." Soarin started. Shimmer was silent.

"She has to train the cadets in her group, command the real team, and take care of you" Soarin whispered. "When she yells at you like that, it's because she's just stressed, or she cares about you" He added.

"I doubt that" Shimmer mumbled.

"It's true Shimmer, both your mother and I care about you" Soarin told her in a caring tone. Soarin got up, but didn't leave the room.

"C'mon Shim, Spitfires waiting to even start giving commands so she doesn't have to repeat herself" Soarin stated. And with that Shimmer walked next to him, feeling his wing drape over her again. and they walked out of her room.


	9. Chapter 9

That night, Shimmer was in her room again. She had skipped lunch and dinner; she just didn't want to be around Spitfire, fearing she would get yelled at for a very stupid reason. She was starting to hate this gift she had, having this gift and not being able to express it.

"Why doesn't she believe me" Shimmer whispered. "It's no fair I get yelled at all the time, she should be saving her breath to command the cadets" Shimmer added.

"She send you up here?" Shimmer heard Fleetfoot ask.

"No" Shimmer responded

"You just are upset with her, aren't you" Fleetfoot guessed.

"Yep" Shimmer simply responded again. She saw Fleetfoot's facial expression turn into a scowl.

"If I were one of them damn poltergeists I would have chucked something at her head, and it would have been hard, and it wouldn't have been thrown lightly" Fleetfoot sneered. "She shouldn't yell at you like this" Fleetfoot added.

"Why haven't you gone over the divide yet" Shimmer asked. Fleetfoot sighed.

"Because I promised I would look after you, like a sister" She started. "And until you join me, I'm going to watch over you" She added, placing her ghostly hoof on Shimmers.

"Was Damien telling the truth" Shimmer asked. Fleetfoot sighed again.

"Get settled in bed kid, and then I'll tell you the truth." Fleetfoot whispered. Shimmer did as she was told, getting into bed, and pulling the covers up over herself.

"What Damien Dawn told you was true. He was just like you. He told us that he would see them, he would tell us names and dates. What happened though was Spitfire snapped at him every time. It was for a reason though. She doesn't believe in the afterlife. Well that pissed Damien off; he said she was shoving her opinion down his throat. Well, he ended up pulling her real parents into that mess, and yes he made her cry a few times, and pissed her off even more. Well you can only push Spitfire so far before she snaps. Well he pushed her buttons to many times, and lo and behold, she dismissed him. Well as he was leaving he got all haughty about his gift and he got all up in her face, saying how he couldn't see how her parents stood her, she should have been kept in the orphanage, and that he would come back and save the next innocent soul that had to go through her torment" Fleetfoot told Shimmer. Shimmer couldn't believe it.

"He, he really did that to her" Shimmer whispered.

"Yeah" Fleetfoot stated. "Just don't mention this, okay, you got to keep this a secret" Fleetfoot whispered to her. Shimmer nodded.

"Good, now you need to close your eyes, and get some sleep" Fleetfoot instructed. Shimmer started to closer her eyes.

"Oh yeah, Shimmer, don't skip breakfast tomorrow" Fleetfoot stated. And with that, disappeared as soon as she knew Shimmer was asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Shimmer woke up in the middle of the night. She turned her head, to see Artic Wind was beside her.

"Baby, you okay, did you have a bad dream or something" She heard Artic Wind state. Shimmer looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. She just felt horrible about herself. She hated this stupid gift, she hated the fact that she got her cutie mark, she just hated herself. Shimmer started to quietly cry. She felt Artic Wind hug her. She cried into his shoulder.

Baby, what can I do?" he asked. She looked at him. She put her head back on his shoulder and continued to cry.

"Nothing other than just holding me, soothing me, just stay with me" Shimmer bawled.

"Baby, what's upsetting you" Artic Wind asked.

"Everyone hates me" Shimmer whispered.

"That's not true baby" Artic wind cooed.

"Spitfire hates me" Shimmer whispered.

"Shim, why are you beating yourself up, you have this gift" Artic wind stated.

"It's not a gift Artic, it's a Bucking curse" Shimmer Murmured through her tears.

"You know I care about you, and Soarin was worried about you, he was mad about Spitfire yelling at you like that, and doesn't Fleetfoot and Damien care about you" Artic Wind stated. Shimmer nodded. Artic wind kissed her forehead, and wiped away her tears. "Okay let's get you back to sleep" Artic wind whispered. He started to rub her tummy; Simmer rested her head on his chest. He kissed her on the lips, and watched as her eyes closed. Soon he laid his head down on the pillow and went to sleep himself.

* * *

Soarin walked into Spitfires dorm, to see his wife sitting by the foot of her bed. He closed the door.

"Why" He asked her.

"Why what" She responded looking at him.

"Why do you yell at her like that?" Soarin commented.

"Look, Soarin, I have a lot of other things to focus on; I can't get distracted by Shimmers imaginary friends, okay!" Spitfire told him.

"Well, have you thought that your cutting her down, just look at her" Soarin stated.

"Soarin, I'm doing what has to be done." Spitfire told him. Soarin shook his head, and walked towards her.

"What you're doing is being a cold hearted mare, who can't think for five seconds because we went through this once! She's not another Damien Spitfire, that doesn't seem to get through to you!" Soarin said, his voice raising.

"Soarin, how da-" Spitfire started.

"No, don't you even START with that Spitfire, you, you are FUCKING NEGLECTING OUR DAUGHTER, do you even think she is telling the TRUTH, OR DO YOU JUST THINK SHES BAT SHIT-CRAZY"

"Did YOU EVEN THINK about what you just SAID!" Spitfire screamed.

"Yes, and I MEANT IT" Soarin yelled back.

"GET OUT" Spitfire screeched

"BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT THE BUCK UP" Lightning yelled from his dorm.

"Get out" Spitfire hissed at her husband, pointing to the door.

"Gladly" Soarin hissed back, and with that left.


	11. Chapter 11

"What's the point of going downstairs" Shimmer stated to Fleetfoot as she sat at the foot of her bed. Fleetfoot looked at her.

"Well you will catch hell sooner or later" Fleetfoot stated. "You know how Spitfire gets" She added. Shimmer got up and started to pace back and forth in her room.

"I'm Spitfire give me options on how to be a fuddy duddy" Shimmer stated, mocking Spitfire.

"You know Soarin stood up for you last night." Fleetfoot stated.

"Yeah, if arguing about me is standing up for me, I don't know anything anymore" Shimmer stated, recalling hearing her parents arguing for what seemed the first time, ever. It scared her to the core, Spitfire's yelling was one thing, her screaming at her father and him yelling back, the thought made her tremor.

"Look, Shimmer, all that happened was your father was banished to the couch, things like this happen in relationships all the time, before you know it those two will make up, and they'll act like it never happened, besides sleeping on the couch for the night, isn't a bad fee for trying to pound some sense into Spitfires head." Fleetfoot stated. They both heard somepony walk up the steps. And soon Shimmers door open, only to reveal Sweets was on the other side. He walked in and closed the door.

"What" Shimmer stated, clearly irritated knowing her mother sent him up here.

"Tell me about Damien." Sweets stated. Shimmer looked at Sweets.

"What?" She asked.

"Tell me about Damien." Sweets repeated. Shimmer obliged, and told him everything she knew about him, along with the other spirits she seen. Sweets nodded, and then left. Shimmer, had no idea what he was doing. And she wasn't in the mood to find out.

* * *

Sweets walked down the hall, only to meet up with Spitfire and Soarin after a few minutes of walking.

"So" Spitfire started.

"She's raising my red flags here" Sweets stated. "She's raising my red flags for schizophrenia" Sweets added.

"You think she's crazy too, great, just great, should of seen this coming from a squints like you, you are just a smart mouth, stupid ass, bastard!" Soarin hissed.

"I don't think she's crazy, what I think is she's hallucinating, and she's got an overactive imagination. Her seeing Fleetfoot is part of a mourning process; she hasn't got over her death. Damien, on the other hand, even though the information she gave me was oddly correct; he's just a creation of the imagination. Never has existed, and he never will." Sweets stated, almost like it was a fact, or common knowledge. Spitfire turned to her husband.

"I told you there was a logical explanation" Spitfire whispered to him. Sweets recalled the argument that had started up as he walked towards shimmers dorm. He could tell there was spilt opinions on the matter.

"You both have to make up, because Shimmer can't be around here if there's going to be tension" Sweets stated. The trio soon walked to Sweets office.

"You have two options here, you either one, put her in a foster home or hospitalize her so I can personally give her the treatment she needs, Or two, Pull her out of school, put her on meds, and let me do therapy sessions with her, and do the treatment over a coarse of time." Sweets stated. "I want to see how she does with option two first, but I'm warning you all three of you will be under supervision. Any tension and she will be removed from this environment" Sweets stated, he walked into his office, and came out with a plastic jar with a safety cap on the top.

"There is a three month supply of meds in there, one capsule should get her through the day" Sweets told them. "Just start her today, there are some minor side effects, she may be more emotional, irritable, she may get a stomach or head ache, it's nothing to be concerned about" Sweets concluded, And with that left.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a while after Soarin and Spitfire had their conversation with Sweets, and now, something unexpected was going to happen on Shimmers part. Shimmer was currently in her room with Artic Wind. Shimmer was on her bed; Artic Wind walked over and laid down next to her. He started to nuzzle her. Shimmer kissed him. Artic Wind ran his hoof down her left side slowly, causing her to roll onto her back. Artic Wind started to rub her belly.

"Mmm" Shimmer sighed.

"Is he making you horny?" Fleetfoot asked from the corner of her room.

"Fleetfoot, stop, please just go" Shimmer whispered, a hint of the lust she was feeling towards Artic Wind in her voice. Artic Wind positioned himself so he could make eye contact with his mare friend.

"Why don't we, make Fleetfoot disappear for a while" Artic Wind asked. He pulled out a small, round, white pill. Shimmer sighed, and opened her mouth, she felt Artic Wind put the pill in her mouth, and she swallowed it obediently. A few seconds later, Fleetfoot became blurry, and her voice was all muffled, like she was talking to her underwater. She felt Artic Wind kiss her on the lips. He started to kiss her neck after that.

"Oh Yes" Shimmer moaned quietly. Artic Wind moved down a little more, he kissed her shoulder a few times, and then started to kiss her chest. Shimmer arched her back pushing herself up into Artic Winds toned chest. She lightly quivered because of the satisfying feeling running thru her body.

"Oh Artic, YES, don't stop, please DON'T STOP" Shimmer moaned, a bit louder than before. Shimmer heard Fleetfoots muffled voice and could only make out three words,

"Yes…. Defiantly horny". It was starting to bug Shimmer, but her attention was drawn back to Artic as he started to kiss her along the hips. Shimmer let a very loud and high pitched moan escape her lips. She knew Artic Wind wouldn't go any lower, but she also was starting to catch onto something, Artic Wind was doing this to sidetrack her, wasn't he. She felt him move up along her body, placing a kiss here and kiss there every once in a while. Artic Wind soon settled down, and held Shimmer close. Shimmer closed her eyes; she needed to rest her eyes, and her brain for a few. She needed to make sense of what was happening to her.


	13. Chapter 13

Shimmer stayed in her bed, ever since she swallowed that pill, she felt like she was going insane.

"What's happening to me?" She commented. Only for Fleetfoots muffled voiced to respond.

"STOP, STOP TALKING" Shimmer screamed at her. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this" Shimmer stated. She got out of her bed, feeling like she was drunk or something; she stumbled around, and fell on her ass. She realized that she had no coordination at the moment. She got up, and stumbled to her closed door; she threw it open, and soon fell on her face.

"Ok this is going to take a while" Shimmer stated to herself. She got up, and faltered down the hallway. She got a few looks from the cadets, and they started to whisper amongst each other.

'They know something, don't they' Shimmer thought. She ignored the whispers and looks and continued down the hallway. After about a half hour, she finally made it down to the mess hall, she peeked in and saw Soarin and Spitfire conversing. She listened closely, since there wasn't a lot going on in the large room.

"There has to be another reason babe!" Soarin hissed, clearly on the verge of yelling.

"Yes, Sweets gave us that reason and the answer" Spitfire shot back in a whisper.

"Yeah, listen to the bastard!" Soarin hissed again a little louder.

"He's the one who told us what to do Soarin, be a little grateful for once!" Spitfire Hissed back. Shimmer bit back a whimper. She let a few tears fall from her eyes. This was terrifying her. She saw the cadets start to file in to get something to eat.

"His option was way over the edge Spits" Soarin commented.

"I find it was just right, she hasn't mentioned them since!" Spitfire stated.

"Spits, we haven't SEEN her since you had Artic Wind give her that pill, If she were to hear that you chose to drug her, she would have not only this to deal with, but she would have trust problems, she should be able to trust us" Soarin told her. Shimmers jaw dropped. She burst into the room, the cadets were silent.

"YOU DID WHAT!" Shimmer screamed. Soarin and Spitfires eyes widened.

"Now Shim it was for a good reason" Spitfire stated. Shimmer stumbled a bit, and then lent up against the wall. She saw Artic Wind start to freak out.

"YOU FREAKIN DRUGGED ME!" Shimmer squeaked.

"Shimmer please just listen to us" Soarin asked.

"Why SHOULD I, I CAN'T EVEN, Even, even tru-trus-tru" Shimmer started, before she passed out, and fell flat on her face.

"SHIM" Artic Wind almost yelled. He ran up to her, and held her in his arms. The others surrounded her, this was not good.

* * *

Shimmer opened her eyes, only to find she was in the medical wing of the academy.

"Huh, what happened" Shimmer stated.

"You passed out about two hours ago" Artic Wind stated, and then proceeded to lightly kiss her on the lips. She saw Artic Winds eyes shift, then he looked back at her. Shimmer sat up, only to see two cadets in the room with her. One was a big, buff, white Pegasus, with surprisingly small wings. The other was a purple Pegasus with a sea foam green mane and tail.

"Flitter, Snowflake, You're both dismissed." Artic Wind commanded without looking at them, they both saluted, and then left. Artic lightly forced Shimmer back down onto the hospital bed. He kissed her again

"I'm so, so, _so_ sorry for what I did" Artic Wind stated. Shimmer reached up and touched his cheek.

"It's ok Artic; Spitfire didn't tell you it would do this to me" Shimmer whispered.

"I should have known, it was a freaking pill" Artic Wind stated. "It could of killed you baby" he added.

"But it didn't, Artic I'm okay, that's what matters, and I've already decided what I'm going to do as soon as I'm back on my hooves" Shimmer whispered.

"You're going to run away, aren't you" Artic Wind whispered. Shimmer nodded.

"They think they can make sure my future is written in stone so to say, but I won't let that happen." Shimmer stated.

"Well, the doc said you have to rest for the rest of the day, so there isn't going to be any planning done tonight." Artic Wind explained. He helped Shimmer up out of the hospital bed.

"C'mon Shim, let's get you back to your dorm" Artic Wind stated, and with that, he left, with his mare friend leaning up against him for a bit of support.


	14. Chapter 14

Shimmer and Artic Wind where back in her dorm. Artic Wind had settled down with Shimmer. Artic Wind nuzzled her a little. Shimmer let a yawn escape her lips.

"You know, you're cute when you're tired" Artic Wind cooed. Shimmer blushed, and yawned again.

"Very cute" Artic Wind added. He kissed her cheek and got her on top of him. He slowly ran his hoof down her back. Shimmer lightly rested her head on his chest, she sighed, and snuggled into him.

"Why did she do it" Shimmer whispered.

"I don't know" Artic Wind responded.

"Its no fair, she thinks I'm crazy, they all think I'm crazy" Shimmer whimpered. She let a few tears fall from her eyes.

"Shhh. Shim, don't get all worked up, they'll see what they did, they're going to regret it." Artic Wind stated. He knew she was serious about running away, and even though he was against it at first, Spitfires actions made him do a double take, he was with her on this one. He laid her back down on her bed, on her stomach, he soon ran his hooves along her sides, and her wings spread out. With that, Artic Wind started to preen her. As he moved feathers back into place, and pulled loose feathers out of her wing, he heard her make a sound, close to a purr, and felt her slightly jump up out of pleasure. Artic Wind soon finished up. He looked at his marefriend, and she looked at him. She turned her head away, and started to cry.

"Baby, baby what happened" Artic wind asked.

"I'm just frightened" Shimmer whispered.

"About, what" Artic questioned

"Spitfire, what if she drugs me again" Shimmer whimpered

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen" Artic Wind started. "C'mon Shim, you need your sleep" Artic Wind stated. He kissed her on the lips, and watched her eyes slowly close, and soon, she was asleep.

"You're going to get out of here for awhile, and I'm going to make sure it happens, it wasn't right for her to do that, you need to be able to express yourself, you need to be able to trust some pony" Artic wind whispered. And with that, pulled Shimmer close, and watched her sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Night time rolled around quickly. Shimmer, woke up to a familiar tapping on her window. Shimmer wriggled out of Artic Winds grasp. She walked over to the window and opened it quietly.

"Damien, you need to be extremely" Shimmer started only for Damien to come soaring into her room, like the first time they met.

"Quiet" Shimmer whispered.

"There was something you had to tell me I could sense it was really important" Damien stated. All of a sudden Artic wind shifted and sat up. He looked at the other colt in the room.

"So that's Damien" Artic stated.

"He is real I told you" Shimmer stated.

"You're going to run, aren't you, you could stay with me, for the time being, that is when you run" Damien stated. "You're going to have to make some adjustments to your overall appearance, but it's just so you can't be detected by the public, little miss" Damien stated. Artic wind got up, and closed in on Damien so he was up against the wall.

"Listen up Mr. Turtleneck von elbow patches. You may seem like a true nobleman, but I won't take any risks. You do ANYTHING to hurt MY GIRL, I will find you, and I will kill you" Artic wind stated to him in a hiss.

"Artic" Shimmer stated taken aback.

"It's not that I don't trust you, just take it as a warning buddy" Artic wind stated. He walked over to the bed and settled down, but he watched Damien every move.

"You're going to need this" Damien stated, then handed her a piece of paper, on it the numbers 33, 45, and 3 were scribbled onto it. "It's the combination for the lockbox in Spitfires office, get into it, and you're halfway done on the 'being prepared' thing of this whole plan." Damien told her, he heard two sets of hooves go down the hallway.

"I got to scamper" Het told them, and with that flew out the open window. Shimmer closed it, and looked at Artic Wind.

"My lips are sealed" He told her. Shimmer just looked at him. "You're supposed to be resting" Artic Wind stated, and with that spread his wing out. Shimmer settled down next to him, and he draped his wing over her. He kissed her on the lips.

"G'night Baby" He told her, and with that fell asleep along with her.


	16. Chapter 16

Shimmer walked into Spitfires office. It was empty at the moment, but she knew soon Spitfire would wonder why she wasn't with the others. She had to be quick but she couldn't draw any attention to the room.

"Okay, where does my dear mother keep her lockbox" Shimmer mumbled. She looked around the office and soon found it She saw the padlock keeping it closed She put in the combo, and opened the lock. She took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside were multiple things. One of those things was Spitfires gun, along with some ammo. The other thing was there was a black skeleton key. Shimmer stared at it for a second.

"He wants me to take this" Shimmer thought. She had no time to question things. Only to act. She grabbed the objects closed and locked the lockbox, and walked out of Spitfires office with her gun, ammo and the key.

* * *

Soarin sat in his office. He heard the door open; he looked up to see his wife standing in front of the closed door.

"the guards told me you needed to see me" She stated.

"Yes, that is correct" Soarin responded, not looking up from his desk.

"Why" Spitfire asked.

"Why, well, you see I think I have found a more… logical explanation to why shimmer claims to see these things." Soarin stated, a smirk started to form on his face. Spitfire noticed there was a book placed on his desk

"Okay, what is it" Spitfire asked in a smug tone. Soarin waved her over, She walked over.

" Read this" He said pointing to a paragraph on one of the pages. She read it over one of the sentences stood out to her. Spitfire reread the sentence.

_Phoenix ponies on a rare occasion will develop the ability to see and hear spirit and/or develop the power to use magic around ages 13-16._

"Oh my Celestia, that explains everything" Spitfire stated. Soarin got up from his desk.

"King of the Academy" He stated then walked out of the room.

"Seriously" Spitfire commented

"King of the Academy" Soarin repeated again. Spitfire shook her head, realizing that she had to get down to the south runway to start training with her quadrant, and with that, dashed down the hallway as well.


	17. Chapter 17

Night time rolled around quickly. Shimmer was in her room. She heard her door open, and saw Artic Wind walk in. He closed the door.

"You got into the lockbox, didn't you" He whispered.

"Yeah" Shimmer responded

"And you took, everything" He added.

"Yep" Shimmer responded again. Artic Wind settled down next to her. He lightly kissed her cheek.

"Are you sure this is what you want" He whispered to her. Shimmer nodded.

"Just, just promise me something" Artic Wind stated.

"And what would that be" Shimmer asked

"Promise me you'll come back, when you're ready" Artic Wind whispered into her ear.

"Of course" Shimmer whispered back. He started to nuzzle her.

"I think he's coming tonight" Shimmer whispered. Artic wind nodded.

"You know I love you baby" Artic Wind stated. He pulled her close to him, and he kissed her on the bridge of her nose. Shimmer closed her eyes, Artic had been around her a lot, and she knew why. Artic lightly nibbled at her ear, Shimmer looked at him with tired eyes, she yawned. Artic kissed her cheek.

"Rest, you're going to need it" He told her, and with that Shimmer instantly fell asleep.

* * *

Later that night, Shimmer heard soft hoof steps in her room. She opened her eyes to see Damien in her room.

"Scratch the idea of changing your appearance, just bring the key, and come with me!" He whispered to her. Shimmer lifted up her pillow, and grabbed the key she found in the lockbox. She lightly kissed Artic Wind. She saw a small smile form on his face, and he shifted onto his side. With that she followed Damien.

They went downstairs, but instead of heading for the front door, They went down a corridor, one Shimmer had never been down. He stopped in front of a small door that looked like one could only get through it by crawling.

"Go ahead, unlock it" Damien stated. Shimmer did just that and as soon as she opened in, a rush of cold air blew on her face, blowing her bed mane back away from her face. She saw there was a passage leading to another door.

"Ladies first" He stated, Shimmer started to crawl into the passage followed by Damien. She opened the other door, only to, walk into the same hallway they were in a few seconds ago.

"What?" Shimmer questioned.

"It's good to be back home" Damien told her. Shimmer had a feeling this place was… different. There was no hoofsteps coming from down the hall, no guards on duty.

"What is this place" Shimmer asked. Damien chuckled.

"A place you'll feel is just like home" He told her. Shimmer got back up onto her hooves. And followed Damien. They were soon in the mess hall, there was one table set up in the center of the room, and not put away like others, only to be set up the next morning. The smell of a freshly baked cake wafted through the air. She walked toward the table to see, there was indeed a cake there. Damien motioned for her to sit down, and he did the same on the opposite bench. Soon, the soft glow of candles Lit up the room. She looked down to see the cake had a few, lit birthday candles, and Welcome Home written in red icing.

"Home?" Shimmer Questioned.

"I've been waiting for you Shimmer" Damien responded, looking her strait in the eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

"Waiting for… me?" Shimmer questioned.

"Wasn't the same without you Shimmer" Damien responded calmly. Shimmer yawned.

"Let me show you to your room" Damien added. He and Shimmer soon got up, and left the room. They ascended the stairs, and he led her to her room. He opened the door, only to reveal a room, fit for the princess herself. The only difference here was most things were animated, alive. Statues of odd little creatures greeted her. Porcelain dolls sat on the shelf were happy to make her acquaintance. Shimmer walked over to her bed, and lay down, pulling the plush covers over herself. Now that she was a little more focused on the room, she realized, it was nothing like her room back home. Even though she could get used to the change, she started to relax even more. She saw Damien open a small box on the nightstand. Shimmer looked at it, and saw two small brass ponies in the interior of the box, spinning around slowly, as if they were dancing, she also saw that a small brass plaque with the words Fairytale Waltz engraved onto it was screwed to the bottom of the box; it soon started to play a melody, that just made Shimmer calm down more. Her eyes fluttered closed.

"G'night Shimmer" She heard Damien whisper "See you soon" He added, before Shimmer was certain he'd left the room. As she drifted off into dreamland, she thought about Spitfire and Soarin, Lightning's jokes, and stupidity that could make anypony laugh, even at the worst of times. She thought about Artic wind, and his soothing voice and touch, and the love he showed her every day.

"Soon" Shimmer thought. "I'll go back soon". Her thoughts were soon interrupted

"WhYyYyY" a voice seemed to moan in her head. Shimmer shifted to her side.

"WhYyYyY, WhYyYy Did you Listen to Him!" it moaned again. That's when realization hit Shimmer like a hard slap to the face. It was Fleetfoot. Shimmer opened her eyes, to see Fleetfoot in the corner. Her hair was down, and not in its big, bright, fluffed up style. She was darker, duller, to mention, she was just Black and White.

"Fleetfoot, wh-wha-what happened to you!?" Shimmer questioned out of shock.

"WhYyYyY! WHYYY… He's gonna KilLlLl you KILL YOU!" Fleetfoot warned. This started to freak Shimmer out.

"What is Wrong with you!" Shimmer commented.

"He's a Sociopath! A SOCIOPATH!" Fleetfoot screamed.

"Go away, please you're scaring me Fleetfoot" Shimmer asked nicely, trying to show respect. She knew you had to respectful with any type of spirit; at least you had to try.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, HE'LL KILL YOU, KILL YOU HE'S A SOCIOPATH, A SOCIOPATH, HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU, GO BACK, GO BACK NOW, WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE" Fleetfoot moaned, and groaned.

"Fleetfoot go away, FLEETFOOT GO AWAY, GO AWAY NOW, GO, GO, GO AWAY!" Shimmer begged and with that started to hysterically cry. She was filled with fear to her very core. She all of a sudden told Fleetfoot something she never thought she would tell Fleetfoot in a thousand years.

"IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA, LUNA, AND ALL THINGS HOLY, BE GONE" Shimmer commanded and with that, Fleetfoot slowly disappeared into a ghostly mist. Shimmer closed her eyes, the music from the box echoed in the silent room, overpowering her cries. She laid back down and closed her eyes.

"Go to sleep" she told herself, her eyes twisting shut.

"Go to sleep"


	19. Chapter 19

Shimmer awoken to what seemed to be the next day to her. She noticed now, the curtains in her room were drawn. She thought nothing of it, being as tired as he was. Now that she thought about it, she just wanted to go home. She walked down the hallway, and down to the mess hall. Breakfast was already there, and prepared for her. She sat down.

"Morning" She heard Damien state. She looked over to him, and saw his fangs, and mouth was stained red and dripping. She turned back to her meal, and tried not to think much about it. She took a few bites out of everything on her plate. Before getting up, and without a word, left the room. She walked outside, only to see, the sun hadn't risen yet. She started walking and then all of a sudden heard a girl with a strong, trottingham like accent say

"Shimmer". She looked around for the sorce.

"Over here" It said from a shrub in front of the house, which looked a lot like the Academy. She saw a creature, that looked like a mixture between a cat, a bat, and a lemur jump out from where it was hiding.

"No questions, I'm Stella" She stated, presenting her name.

"Hi" Shimmer stated. She walked next to her.

"I know why you're here Shimmer. And right now, your mother is in a absolute tizzy trying to find you… She knows the truth now, and she loves you with all her heart." Stella told her.

"How do you know that?" Shimmer asked.

"Oh, I travel in between the real world, and this imaginary doll house with a gazillion plus pieces" Stella stated. "Damien, does the same" She added.

"What are you saying?" Shimmer asked. Stella sighed, She walked on a fallen tree trunk. She jumped into one hole in the bark, and came out another.

"You may think this world is a dream come true Shimmer, but you're wrong, it's all a trick, and it's all about to collapse on you, and when it does, you'll just be the gullible pony I thought you were all along." Stella stated. And with that started to walk away.

"Why were you hiding before?" Shimmer asked.

"You see… Damien doesn't like me… you'll find out why sooner or later" She started. "And in this situation, I could say vice versa" Stella added, and with that walked off.

"She'll be back" Shimmer thought, "But I… I am going back home, now" Shimmer mumbled. And with that walked towards the house. She walked down the corridor to see the small door, was still open She ran towards it, sliding on her knees and elbows the last part of the way, She was just about to enter the passage way separating the real and pretend world only to feel something grab her tail, and drag her back. The door slammed closed, and she was pushed up against the wall.

"Where do you think you're going" Damien hissed.

"I… I want to go home!" Shimmer commented. Damien glared at her.

"This is your home Shimmer; this will always be your home… I am you're best friend, and you will respect that… I will MAKE you respect that!" Damien hissed. With that he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her inside one of the walls.

"You make come out, when you've learned to be a respectful friend!" Damien screeched, Shimmer noticed he had changed dramatically, into a monster beyond her wildest imagination, with razor sharp claws, and fangs long and pointy. He soon left her alone in the room, with no means of escape, she lunged at the wall banging her hooves against it. Since she realized she was wasting her energy she did the next thing she could think of. She curled up on the floor, and she cried, and cried, and cried.

"I want to go home, I want to be with my mommy and daddy, I want to be with Artic Wind, Hell I want to be with that cadets again! I don't care what happens, I just want to go HOME" Shimmer whimpered. She continued to cry until she saw where she was, a glowing filled the room, showing a bed in very poor condition, leaks were forming in the ceiling. But the glowing from under the sheets scared her.

"Hush, and Shush for the grave man might be listening" A voice, soothing in tone whispered to her.


	20. Chapter 20

"You mean, Damien" Shimmer whimpered. Tears still streamed down her face. The covers were flung off the bed, revealing three other fillies about her age, but scary thing was, they were ghosts. One of them floated to her, Shimmer could clearly see there were too puncture wounds on her neck.

"You must not remember our names, but I remember my real Captain" the ghost said, another floated towards her.

"He spied on our lives, through meeting us in the real world, and he saw we were unhappy he offered to help us run away." She started. The third floated over the bed.

"And when he brought us here he bribed us to stay with plenty of food to eat and games to play." She whispered. All three of them floated towards the ceiling

"Even though we wanted to go home, he saw we wanted more, and with that we let him bite us, and change us into what he was." The first spirit stated.

"He told us we were friends, but he locked us away in here" The second one stated. They all floated down so it looked like they were laying on the bed.

"And he managed to eat our lives away" they all said in unison. Shimmer was done with her crying. She looked at them.

"How, how can I get out of here" Shimmer asked.

"Damien is fond of mind games, maybe you can challenge him to a game, and if you win, you get your freedom." They suggested.

"That's a great ide…" Shimmer started before two clawed hands came through the wall, one around her mouth and one around her waist, and pulled her out of the room

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the academy everything was in absolute chaos. The news that Shimmer was MIA hit most of the wonderbolts, and cadets like a ton of bricks. But the one it really had an effect on was Spitfire. She sat in her office. The door closed, and the guards were outside.

"Dear Celestia I never meant to drive her to this." Spitfire sobbed. "How could I've been so heartless" she added in a whimper. She heard the door open, and shut as quietly as possible. She didn't look up to see who it was, or scold them for entering her office without getting permission. She soon felt a hoof running up and down her back. Tears still rolled down her cheeks.

"Shh" She heard a masculine voice hush to her. She looked up a little to see Soarin next to her.

"Why, why after all I've put you and our daughter through, you come to comfort me" Spitfire sobbed. Soarin wrapped his arms around her from behind, and pulled her into a hug.

"Babe, it's because I love you, it hurts me to see you in any type of pain" Soarin whispered into her ear. Spitfire still had tears streaming down her face. Soarin let go of her for a second so he could hold her, so her head was resting on his shoulder.

"Let it out babe, just let it out" He told her. He felt her burry her face into his shoulder. He heard her muffled cries, some of them even sounding like she was calling out for the filly she called her own. After a few minutes. Spitfire had gotten most of what she was feeling out of her system.

"Look, Bravo is coming in tonight, we are going to find her" Soarin told her. And with that just held onto her again.

"Will find her" He whispered.


	21. Chapter 21

Shimmer fell into a better looking room. A sweet scent wafted through the air. Usually anything sweet would make her ecstatic, but right now it was making her sick to her stomach. She swallowed hard, and walked to the mess hall. She almost turned heel and ran the other way when she saw that Damien hadn't changed from when she last saw him. He was now tall and slim. Long, thin claws replaced his hooves. His eyes were merely red slits. His mane and tail were strait, and his fangs were long and sharp. Shimmer sat down at the table. And swallowed hard.

"You know Damien" She started. "I was thinking we could play a little game" Shimmer added. He walked over and sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"What kind of game" Damien asked in a low growl. Shimmer thought for a minute. The key, the door was probably locked now.

"What if I find the key to the door?" She asked.

"You mean pieces, pieces of the key" Damien stated.

"Whatever, pieces, and if I find these pieces, and win the game, you let go back to the real world" Shimmer stated. Damien nodded.

"And if you lose?" He asked. Shimmer froze up. What if she lost? She thought but one option came to her mind, she swallowed hard, she started to shake and felt her stomach churning.

"If I lose, you can bite me, and I'll stay here, just like you want" Shimmer stated. 'Dear Celestia I just made a deal with the devil' Shimmer thought.

"Okay, you find the pieces, and win, I'll let you go" Damien stated. "You're timed tough, and you'll know when your time is up" He stated to her , and with that walked out of the room. Shimmer swallowed hard, how was she going to pull this off? With that she walked off towards her room.

* * *

Shimmer was walking in the hallway that led to her room. She was silent, until she heard a familiar voice yell at her.

"WHY, WHY DID YOU DoOoO THAT!"

"Oh, not you!" Shimmer hissed. She turned around and saw the very depressed looking Fleetfoot coming down the hall.

Shimmer ran faster down the hall, past her room, and went into some sort of closet. She slammed the door, and managed to squeeze her way in between a pipe that was part of some sort of system, and the far left corner of the room.

"I'm alone, all alone, just calm down" Shimmer whispered to herself. Soon a glow filled the room.

"WhYyYyY SHIMMER WHY, HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU, HE'LL EAT YOU, RABBITDOGCATLIZARDPONY" Fleetfoot screeched making Shimmer jump up, she hit her head on the shelf. She heard something hit the ground, and with that she ran as fast as the wind out of the room, only to hear something roll out of the closet. She looked over to see some sort of glass, like one of the shot glasses one would fins at a bar. She swallowed hard, and looked around. Noting Fleetfoot was gone, she picked up that small glass, and took off running.

"Fresh air, that's all I need" Shimmer thought. And with that dashed outside.


	22. Chapter 22

Shimmer burst outside, and soon started to trot away from the house. She knew where she was heading, but didn't know what to expect. She knew the training grounds were down the way she was trotting, the familiar south runway her mother would train her quadrant at. Oh just being there would help her calm down. But as she got closer and closer something didn't seem right. She heard something close to a meow; she looked down to see Stella walking next to her.

"And where do you think you're going?" She questioned.

"Well, I'm getting out of here" Shimmer stated, she looked up, to see every tree, and rock, and spot of color fading away. "I don't understand, shouldn't the training grounds be here?" Shimmer asked.

"Nothing here, it's the empty part of this world, He only built what he knew would impress you" Stella responded.

"But why, why does he want me?" Shimmer asked.

"He just want's something to love… I think... besides himself, or maybe he's just dying for a midnight snack!" Stella explained

"Snack, but friends don't eat friends!" Shimmer stated, shocked.

"I don't know, what do you taste like?" Stella asked. They walked in the blank, white space for a few more seconds, only to end up back in front of the house.

"What, this is uncanny, how can you walk away from something, and just come back to it?" Shimmer asked.

"You're full of questions aren't you" Stella started. She sighed and then looked at Shimmer. "Walk around the world" She simply stated.

"Small world" Shimmer responded quietly. Stella spread her wings to fly away. But stopped and got into a position that made it look like she was about to pounce.

"Hold on" She whispered, and soon dove into one of the bushes, and soon emerged swatting at a white mouse. Shimmer heard what Stella heard a few seconds ago, and it sounded almost like a bell.

"Hey, leave that alone, it's just an innocent mouse" Shimmer hissed. All of a sudden, Stella had the mouse by the neck, and she bit it, making the poor animals neck snap. And soon, it turned into a rat, and some sort of black filling spilled out of it, along with a piece of something.

"I don't like rats at the best of times, but this one in particular was sounding an alarm" Stella hissed. Soon, she was pawing at the pile of black stuff, only to have a gold piece emerge from It, A piece of the key.

"I believe this belongs to you that glass you have should help you, just look through it, and also, watch the moon" Stella told her. And then jumped up on her back, curled up into a ball, and started to rest on her back. Shimmer looked up at the moon, to see a third of it was a blood red.

"My time" She stated, "It's being used as an hour glass" Shimmer whispered, and then ran off, to get the glass, and start the rest of her search.

* * *

"We searched everywhere Spitfire" Misty stated as she landed back on the runway, lit by a few lanterns hanging on tree branches.

"What she means is, we searched everywhere within a three mile radius, we'll do a six mile radius tomorrow" Hail, the captain of Bravo stated, His mane blowing back from the cool, autumn breeze.

"Spitfire, she's bound to be somewhere" Tyco told her, his Manehatten accent strong.

"This is useless, we'll never find her at this rate" Spitfire whispered to Soarin, resting her head on his shoulder, tears brimming from her eyes.

"Pardon us" Soarin stated.

"Pleasure is ours Soarin" Hail stated, and then flew off, his team following behind. Soarin looked at his wife. A few tears burned in his eyes. He took a deep breath; he couldn't let Spitfire see him in a vulnerable state. He held her close.

"Please, babe, don't lose hope" Soarin whispered, and he pulled her into a hug. He felt her tears hit his coat. He felt one of his tears start to roll down his cheek, he wiped it away quickly. He rubbed her back for a little bit, and soon picked her up.

"C'mon Spitfire, lets get to bed" Soarin stated. Spitfire nodded and allowed herself to rest.

'please Shimmer, come home soon, you're mother and I are emotional train wrecks' Soarin thought, as he entered the barracks, and went towards Spitfires dorm.


	23. Chapter 23

Time passed by far quickly than shimmer expected, and so did finding two other pieces to the key. One was in a tree by a garden. This quite frankly, didn't exist in Shimmers real world. The other was a bit of challenge, judging that it was in the empty part of the world, and Shimmer had to walk back there about three times before she found it. The moon was just about completely blood red. And it was starting to get to Shimmer; she had managed to put the three pieces together, only to realize there was a fourth.

"Didn't the ghost girls tell you he was fond of mind games" Stella yawned. She pushed her paws into Shimmers back. Her small sharp claws dug into her back every once in a while.

"Yeah, they did... Wait a second. HE has the fourth piece." Shimmer stated.

"Why don't you find out?" Stella stated. Shimmer dashed inside, and down the corridor, only to be met with the sight of Damien, standing guard at the door.

"So, you're back, and you brought Stella with you." Damien hissed.

"No… I brought a friend" Shimmer corrected him. He strode over to where she was.

"You know I'm your friend" He stated. He used his clawed hand to lightly push her head up to look her in the eyes.

"You have a very, VERY weird way of showing that friendship, Damien" she told him.

"So you're looking for the fourth piece" He questioned.

"Yeah" Shimmer almost sneered.

"Smart Girl, so go ahead, guess where it is, oh yeah, also, too bad you won't have… THIS" He told her, pulling out the glass, she has in her possession a few seconds prior. He threw it on the ground and smashed it.

"Be smart Shimmer, even if you win, He'll never let you go" Shimmer heard Stella say to her. But when she looked at her, she noticed she was curled up, looking at Damien, She showed her sharp fangs to him and hissed. She flew around the room distracting him for a second.

"I already know where you hid it" Shimmer stated. "It's behind that door" She told him, pointing to the small door that lead to the passage way between the real and fake world. He walked over to the door, and started to pick the lock with one of his long claws. Shimmer felt Stella land on her back.

"Over there" She whispered, Shimmer looked up to the thing glass windows above them, and saw the last piece of the key, in the glass. Shimmer, then walked over to the shards of the broken glass, she grabbed the thick, bottom of the broken cup, and threw it, hitting where the fourth piece of the key was. Damien turned around and hissed.

"YOU LITTLE CHEATER" He yelled, His fangs grew long till the tips were painful looking points. "YOU'RE STAYING HERE FOREVER!" He once again screamed.

"No. I'm. NOT" Shimmer yelled back, and with that Threw Stella at Damien. She all of a sudden threw her hoof out, and soon she saw the forth piece of the key magically appear, put into place with the other three. She ran towards the door, and slid once again, on her knees and elbows, getting cut by multiple shards of glass. She saw Stella fly into the now, indecent passageway, and the gust of wind from her flying closing the door. They started to move quickly down the passage. Shimmer was thinking absolute nonsense to herself, and soon her thoughts were interrupted by a pounding, and Damien's muffled voice.

"Move, NOW" Stella commanded, and with that, they started to hastily crawl to the other door. Shimmer started to think to herself again

"Five feet, four feet, three feet, two feet". And soon she flew out into another hallway with Stella, only to have a shower of broken glass come out of nowhere, cutting her up even more. She locked the door, and then smashed the key under hoof. And soon heard many sets of hooves trotting down the hallway.

"We're safe?" Shimmer questioned.

"We're safe" Stella agreed. "Don't focus on me, you've learned to control you're focus shimmer, all along you've heard me because you focused on me" Stella stated. Shimmer nodded, and focused on the unfamiliar mare trotting down the hallway.

"SPITFIRE! SOARIN! COME QUICK!"


	24. Chapter 24

Spitfire and Soarin rushed down the hallway, to find a battered, cut up, and bleeding Shimmer. Little splotches of blood covered the hardwood floor, and there was a little creature that looked like a mixture between a lemur, cat, and bat next to her.

"Shimmer?" Spitfire questioned.

"Mom" Shimmer responded.

"Did you?" Spitfire started.

"Yeah" Shimmer stated. She didn't know what she was getting at though.

"It acted up on you again" She stated, referring to her prosthetic.

"Um, Yeah" Shimmer responded, trying to avoid a hard punishment, or being put in an insane asylum.

"Shimmer! My Celestia, you look horrible" Shimmer heard Artic Wind state, as he dashed down the hall.

"Thank Artic, every mare just LOVES to hear that after they crashed and broke a few windows" Shimmer hissed.

"Sorry" Artic Wind responded.

"Well, she is suffering from sleep deprivation, and slightly bleeding out, and she's probably going to need some stiches" Hail stated.

"When did you become a doctor" Spitfire stated, as she helped her daughter up.

"When did you become my mom" Hail shot back. Remembering his own mother popping the "When did you become" Line before. Spitfire, Soarin, Artic Wind, and Shimmer all walked out of the room. All of a sudden though. Spitfire stopped.

"Mom?" Shimmer questioned.

"Wait for it" She whispered. Shimmer and the others heard Rainbow Dash clear her throat.

"So Tyco, now that we've got to know each other a little more, you want to go see a movie with me sometime." Rainbow Asked

"Yeah sure, It'll give you a chance to meet my boyfriend, he likes his chick flick" He responded. They saw the others walk out of the room after that, rainbow being the last.

"Not going to work out, is it Rainbow Dash" Spitfire asked.

"With all due respect ma'am, please, shut up" Rainbow responded, and with that retreated to her office. Spitfire and the others laughed, and then soon, started to go their own, separate ways.

* * *

After a few hours of treatment in the medical wing of the academy, Shimmer was back in her dorm with Artic Wind. She felt him settle down next to her, he started to rub her back. Shimmer felt a lot more tired than she expected she would.

"Oh, you are such a sweetheart, yes you are, yes you are" They both heard Spitfire coo from the other room.

"What is she doing to Stella" Shimmer asked, slightly rolling her eyes at her mother cooing to the little creature who followed her home.

"She showing her gratitude, it a rarity for that to happen" Artic Wind explained. He kissed her cheek, and pulled the covers over her. Shimmer snuggled into them, and let her eyes close halfway.

"Artic Wind" Shimmer mumbled. She felt him hold her close. He kissed her.

"Yeah baby" He asked.

"Promise to remind me never to run away again." Shimmer mumbled even quieter than before.

"Of course" Artic wind whispered into and made a little nibble at her ear. Shimmer started to cuddle into him. And soon fell asleep, knowing the real Damien could never get to her again, knowing she was safe, and knowing, the talents she possessed were potentially life saving gifts.


End file.
